Having fun with pins...

So I've found a lot of fun things on pinterest. I've made a couple of recipes, but this is my favorite find so far... It was fun. :)

I was slightly overwhelmed at first, b/c I had never cut vinyl on my cricut, and wasn't totally sure where to start.

The idea is from this blog: http://icandyhandmade.blogspot.com/2011/03/tutorial-and-giveaway-lucky-me-board.html

and I did change some things. Hers is a little more rustic looking, but this doesn't fit with much of my other decor, so I didn't do as much as she did. But I still loved how it turned out. :) I will probably sand down some more of the small blocks, so more of the blue comes through though.

This makes me want to do a bunch more crafts... and use my cricut more.

So one other thing I found on pinterest was not buying cricut vinyl. Although I did this time b/c I wasn't sure what else to do, and I'm not patient enough to figure it out before making this. So where does everyone else get vinyl? I'll be looking around, I guess.

A little trepidation

So lately I have had this nagging feeling. Its actually been quite a while now that I have felt that I really needed to gather up all of our home movies and put them in our fire proof safe. Now that alone wasn't anything to really worry me too much. That's just good practice right? And for a while, I've thought that we probably don't have enough insurance to cover all of our possessions if we ever had a total loss, but how often does that really happen? Well, then a week or so ago, I got a very strong impression that I needed to get a detailed log of all of our possessions. (*Are you kidding? Do you know how long this would take?) But how long can you really ignore something like that? I wake up almost every morning with the feeling that I really need to get that done. Its definitely not how I really want to spend my time, but I guess it must be important.

The good news, is that I'm not really having fears over whether or not we are going to be safe... In the past, if I think about a fire or some big emergency I am always imagining how I would quickly and safely get the boys out of the house. But these feelings have not been accompanied by concerns over our safety.

So today I have been recording everything we have. I'm not finished yet. I have written down all our movies and toys. I have gone through almost every room and recorded the items in it. Its such a weird feeling. I probably won't write down everything... but how do you estimate the cost of your scrapbook supplies? That's so much money. And you can't possibly just replace what you've got.

I know this is a weird post. But I guess I'm just feeling weird.

Who does this??? And why should I??

But I guess I'm hoping I don't find out why.

A New Year...

So many things to update on, but if I don't start with what has been on my mind then I will never get to it.

With the new year, I have a small list of things that I am trying to do this year.

Today at church, we had a great lesson, and among other things we talked about having a list or plan for the things we want to do or be. We talked about living in a way that exemplifies what you believe, which is sometimes hard to do.

1. More spiritual time. Last year was full of ups and downs... probably not big ones, but I struggled sometimes with the daily things and feeling happy, content and peaceful on a daily basis. I struggled with putting in the time every day to make sure I felt the spirit, so that is one of my biggest goals for 2012.

a. Read my scriptures every day of 2012! I need this spiritual time so much, and as I have started this, it has already been a huge blessing. I used to be so diligent and good at never missing a day reading, but life got crazy and I let it go too often. Not in 2012! (So far so good.) :)

2. Be healthy. Of course the standard New Years Resolution of lose weight and be more healthy. I have been much better at eating lots of fruit and vegetables every day, less snacking, less carbs and less calories. I'm also exercising more. I've been going to the gym more regularly, got my new workout room all set up, and ordered the new Zumba Dvd's. :) Yea! Happy Day! So far I've lost about 6 pounds. Not too bad.

3. Spend more quality time with my children. I need to focus on spending more quality time with my kids and giving them time every day where I am focused on them and not anything else. I am trying to say 'yes' more and be less selfish with my time. They are growing up too fast, and I don't want to miss one precious minute!

4. Clean house. Overall, I really think that I am a pretty clean person, but I realized that I wasn't always consistent. I would just pick up throughout the day, and by the time Jon got home we were lucky if it was still clean. I've been much better about making sure the kitchen is totally clean (not just the dishes) after every meal, and snack, etc... When Jon comes home I want everything totally clean. Clean kitchen, bedrooms, playroom, bathrooms, etc... This has worked out very well so far. It hasn't taken much time each day as long as I stay on top of everything. We were able to re-arrange the house a little, and this has helped more than I thought it would. I know this probably won't happen every single day, but I need this to stay a priority for me. It helps keep my children calm and better behaved, me less depressed, and Jon less stressed as he walks in the door. Honestly, it just feels more like the home I grew up in. :) Always clean, always a peaceful happy place.

I think this pretty much sums it up.

I have been a much happier person. I feel so much more organized and feel the spirit of peace that comes from putting the Lord and my time studying his gospel as a priority everyday. Of all my goals, that is the one I just can't mess up on. I think it makes all my other goals so much easier. I am a happier person and I feel so blessed!

Happy 2012!

Summer

Here's a very quick recap of our Summer.

We went to lots of T-ball games! This looks like it will be one of Nathan's favorite sports. He had a lot of fun. And we ended up knowing a couple of kids on the team, so that made it more fun!

We saw that a family of ducks had found a haven in our backyard. So cute!

We spent a little bit of time at Thanksgiving Point! We will probably go even more now that its not quite as hot!

The boys and I went to the Parade on the 4th of July in Provo. They loved it and Matthew was talking about Parades for at least a month afterwards. He kept telling people he went to a parade... long after it was over!

And then we can't forget that we did LOTS and LOTS and LOTS of swimming!

Nathan is a fish!! He is becoming quite a good little swimmer. He loves baseball, but I'm pretty sure that swimming is his #1 favorite thing to do. I might even look into putting him on some kind of team. I don't even know if they do that this young... but I think he would love it!

Matt is also starting to love the water. I think it helps watching big brother enjoy it so much. Matt wants to do EVERYTHING that Nathan is doing!

He's just learning to dive here. It took a few times but now he's really become quite good at it. Better than me for sure!

Valentine's Day

Jon and I went out the Friday before Valentine's day. We went to dinner and went dancing. It was so great! It's always good to go dancing and feel young again. It was a wonderful break and much needed 'us' time.

Jon's Valentine's Day Treat

My kids were super spoiled for Valentine's Day this year. I don't usually give them an actual gift, but for some reason, I just couldn't resist. It was a splurge, but they LOVE them!

It was a GREAT Valentine's Day!

Family Pictures

Yes, we are still alive. How sad its been 9+ months.

We had some informal family pictures taken in December. Thank-you Tabby!

Here are some of the pics.

If you can't tell, our boys were totally freezing. Poor kids.
Good thing we weren't out there too long.

What can I say? I think our boys are so cute! :)

Happy Family!

Preschool Program

Nathan's preschool program and last day of school was a couple of weeks ago, and here are some pictures.

In these first 3 pictures, Nathan is 'rocking out' and dancing to the songs they were singing. I think he is supposed to be playing the guitar. He is such a funny kid! His facial expressions are so funny sometimes.

When his teacher gave out the preschool certificates she said something about each one of the kids. When she got to him, she said that he was the 'character.' He is always being silly and making them laugh. He's always putting on a show or doing something to get attention. He's always a 'character'.
I didn't have to try to hard to imagine that!

He's such a cute kid!

Aren't they cute?... I love them!

The Zoo

I went with some college roomates to Hogle Zoo in May. The boys loved it! We will have to get together more often!

We saw the cute baby elephant about 3 times. It was adorable!

Alissa's little boy Jase, Brooke's little girl Lily, and my boys!

Oh... so fun!

We ended up walking around the zoo again after the others left b/c Nathan didn't think he saw enough animals. let's just say that when we were done, all of us were exhausted. They both slept all the way home.

April Fun

This was on my Birthday. Jon took me to lunch and to Barnes & Noble to buy me a gift!

You can't tell, but Matthew was laughing so hard here. He loved it!

One day when I was busy, Jon was home with the boys, and they did fingerpainting. Yea dad! He is the fun one!

And this is typical behavior. Nathan is trying to make sure he's not too messy, and Matthew is loving the mess!

Easter Pictures... What??

I know, I know. I am super behind, but this is my attempt to catch up. A little at a time.

Hm... well, he's cute, but I think he needs a haircut!

HAHA!! Jon and I think Matt looks like Donald Trump in this picture. :)

I loved Easter with the boys. It was great! It's fun having two that are old enough to get excited, even though Matthew doesn't really understand why he gets candy and toys. The Easter Bunny brought us lots of books. Mom was excited!

Boys, boys, boys

Well, to say it's been a while is not accurate. It just hasn't been on my list of priorities. I'll post some pictures, but they aren't very recent. I'll have to do that later.

Nathan finished preschool last week, and he is such a cute boy. His preschool teacher said something about each of the children as she gave them their certificate of completion. She said Nathan was a character... he always makes everyone laugh, and they always get a kick out of him. I thought what she said was cute. It didn't really surprise me too much. He really likes to be the 'clown' and get people to pay attention and laugh.

Both boys are crazy lately, but I love them!! Matt has been so funny. He walks and runs with the funniest 'little man' attitude. He holds his own with Nathan, which is really saying something b/c Nathan can be pretty aggressive. That means I will really have to watch Matt as he gets older. But he is SO loveable.

Poor little Matt wasn't sleeping very well, and was starting to be really fussy at night, so about 2 weeks ago I took him in to the Urgent Care. My worries were confirmed when the doctor said that Matthew had an ear infection. (His tubes just barely fell out). The doctor said that it was one of the worst infections he has ever seen. He gave him a shot of antibiotic and a prescription and said he needed to be seen in 2 days. So I took him to his pediatrician 2 days later. The PA said his infection was still really bad. They gave him another shot, and said he needed to be seen at the end of the 10 days. This time I decided to take him to his Ear, Nose & Throat specialist. That appointment was today. His infection was 95% gone, but that is after 12 days of antibiotics, 2 shots, and 10 days of ear drops (more antibiotics). So he recommended we put tubes back in. Jon & I figured this was coming, but it is a little discouraging. Especially since our deductibles went up in January. The deductible for the kids is $2000. Ouch!!! We're definitely feeling the pinch right now, but this will be worth it. Poor little guy. He's a happy kid, and most of the time I can't even tell anything is bothering him. He's had no fever with this infection, which is why it took me so long to take him in. So a week from Thursday he goes back in. I hope he does ok.

Here are some pictures:
These are all from our trip to Las Vegas the end of March. Except this first one is right after we got back.

Oh sweet boy!

On the way back from Vegas... so tired!